


Sunday Morning After

by SonriaCat



Series: The Living Years [2]
Category: Castle
Genre: AO3 exclusive, Episode: 2x06 Vampire Weekend, F/M, Season 2, pre-Caskett
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-16 01:00:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13043247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonriaCat/pseuds/SonriaCat
Summary: "I don’t mean for this to sound awkward, but..." Just how much had he had to drink last night, anyway? Tag for 2x06 "Vampire Weekend," based on an idea floated by Tamala Jones during an interview.





	Sunday Morning After

Richard Castle woke to the sound of church bells reverberating through his head.

He groaned out loud. Yes, today was Sunday. But was it really necessary for the bells to start this early? And to be so very _loud?_

Then there was movement somewhere below him, followed by a second groan, and he realized he hadn’t woken up alone. Something brown reached across his vision and the church bells abruptly stopped.

Oh. They’d been a ring tone.

“Yeah.” His companion had a female voice. It was awfully familiar, but he couldn’t place it yet. Castle closed his eyes for a long moment, exhaling and trying to work his way through the muzziness.

Just how much had he had to drink last night?

“Okay. I’ll be there in an hour.” There was a pause. “I didn’t say forty-five minutes, I said an hour. Some of us do things like take showers in the morning. You should try it sometime.”

Oh, God. The voice _was_ familiar. His eyes opened again. “Lanie?”

She waved her free hand, shushing him. “One hour. That’s sixty minutes, and every minute you spend yapping at me on this line is one more minute added to that.” That apparently had the desired effect, because she nodded. “All right. See you there.”

After she hung up, she met his eyes. “Dead body.”

“I gathered,” he managed. “Um, I don’t mean for this to sound awkward, but —”

“Do not finish that sentence if you want to keep any skin on your backside. If you can’t remember last night, at least be polite enough to keep that to yourself.”

The fog in his mind wasn’t clearing anywhere near quickly enough, so he shook his head in an effort to speed it up. Doing so was a mistake, as it resulted in a far-too-sharp reminder that he was going to have a hangover. Groaning again, he let his head fall back onto the pillow.

A shift in the bed told him that Lanie had slid out of it, and he could hear cloth rustling. Opening his eyes once more, he saw that she was pulling on clothing. “I thought you were going to take a shower.”

“I’m going home first.”

That’s right. They were in _his_ bedroom. He blinked again, careful not to move anything besides his eyes. That was when he noticed exactly what she was putting on: the remnants of what had apparently been a rather tight-fitting costume.

The sight triggered his memory. He’d had a party last night for Halloween. Kate had come in late, with a trick costume, and he’d totally fallen for it in front of everyone.

But that wasn’t what was important right this second. “Why don’t you shower here? We might be able to find you something else to wear.”

“Something of whose? Yours?”

Sitting up took far more effort than it should have. He was getting too old for hangovers. “Alexis.”

That earned him a snort and she gestured at herself, indicating the shape of her body. “As if I could wear anything belonging to your fifteen-year-old daughter who looks like a toothpick.”

“Maybe one of my shirts and a pair of her pants, then. You don’t have to —”

“Castle.” Her tone had sharpened, though there was no little amount of amusement as well. “It’s bad enough that I’m doing the walk of shame out of your place at all. Do not wake up your family and make me do it in front of them.”

“What time is it?”

She glanced at a clock. “A little after seven.”

“Then there’s a good chance Alexis is already up anyway.”

“Oh, great.” There was no amusement now.

He pushed the covers off his legs. “Why don’t I go out there and find you something to wear, and while I’m doing it, see if I can’t convince anyone I see to go back upstairs. It’s still the weekend. You’re supposed to sleep in.”

“You really want me to stay and take that shower here, don’t you? I’ll be doing it alone if I do.”

“I wasn’t suggesting otherwise. It’s just the least I can offer, after…” he trailed off. This was definitely nowhere near the top of his game. “This doesn’t have to be any more awkward than it is already. Shoving you out the door without even letting you clean up…”

She eyed him before nodding once and turning toward the bathroom. A moment later, he heard the sound of water running.

Castle rooted around on the floor for a pair of shorts, rubbing at his eyes and trying to remember how they’d ended up in here. Kate had left early after the incident with the puppet under her coat, and he’d been irritated. But a couple more drinks and trading flirtatious comments with Lanie had helped that bad mood, so he’d played the game willingly. After all, it had just been for fun.

But as the night had worn on and the drinks had gotten stronger, the silly comments had turned into faux-innocent touches, and then there had been a few remarks and touches that weren’t innocent at all. He’d found himself pushing her into a corner for a quick kiss that ended up not being so quick.

Then, after he’d seen what he’d thought was the last guest out, he’d come into the study to find her seated in his chair, feet on his desk and a feral look in her eyes.

Groaning again, he found his robe and pulled it over the shorts, praying Alexis had chosen to sleep in. Maybe he could find a pair of her pants in the laundry.

No such luck. She was at the breakfast bar, with her nose in a book and a plate of bacon and eggs in front of her.

He pasted on a smile. “Good morning, Sweetheart.”

“Morning, Dad.” She pointed at the coffee machine. “I went ahead and started that. I figured you were going to need it after last night.”

“Did we get that loud?” There was time for one cup before he completed his mission, he decided. He made it a strong one.

“Ear plugs are useful items,” she informed him. “Are you hung over? The caterers cleaned up the worst of it, but there are still some things needing doing.”

“I’ve been in worse shape.” He stole a bite of her eggs before he continued. “Listen, ah, you know it’s Sunday, right? That you don’t have school today?”

She folded the book. “Of course.”

“So you could go back upstairs and sleep in, if you wanted to. But, um, if you wanted to change clothes or something first —”

“Dad.” She shoved the rest of the plate toward him. “Does your friend need to borrow clothes so she doesn’t have to leave in her costume?”

“Friend?”

“In your bedroom. I can hear the shower running, but you’re out here.”

He sighed. “Yeah, okay. A pair of pants, maybe? I can make sure you get them back.”

“Don’t you need a shirt, too? My pants will be a little short on Detective Beckett, but I think she and I wear the same size shirt…” she trailed off, apparently seeing something in his expression. “It’s not Detective Beckett.”

“No,” he answered, wondering how to explain. He’d always made an effort to keep the sordid details of his dalliances away from his daughter. For the most part, he’d succeeded, although she had occasionally been aware of his overnight visitors. This, though, was the first time the visitor was someone she actually knew.

Alexis was still watching him, he realized. “No,” he repeated. “It’s not Detective Beckett, and I don’t think that…my friend…will fit into one of your shirts, sweetheart. Just a pair of your pants.”

She continued her piercing look for a long moment before hopping down off the stool. “All right. I guess that was just wishful thinking. Is it anyone I do know?”

“Alexis,” he started, not knowing how he would finish. But she waved him off.

“On second thought, never mind, Dad. I don’t think I want to know. Just wait here.” She was back in a few minutes with a pair of loose sweat pants. “Make sure one of you washes them before you bring them back to me.” After that, she disappeared up the stairs again.

Despite the pounding in his head, Castle found himself grinning. He really did have the best daughter in the world.

Pouring a second cup of coffee, he headed back into the bedroom. The sound of water in the pipes had stopped while Alexis was getting her pants. Lanie was sitting on the bed, wearing her underwear and folding the rest of her costume.

“Here,” he said. “I brought you a cup.”

“Not my style,” she answered, “but I appreciate the thought. And the pants.”

“Yeah.” He handed them over before heading to his closet. “I think I have a sweatshirt that will fit you.”

“Did you manage to get those without Alexis finding out?”

“No.” He sighed. “But she’s decided that since you’re not Beckett, she doesn’t want to…” Oh, crap. That was not the kind of thing you said in this sort of situation. “I’m sorry, Lanie.”

To his surprise, her response was a chuckle. “Smart kid.”

“What?”

“Having the sense to get out of the way when it’s the wrong person.”

He emerged from the closet with one of his looser sweatshirts. “It’s not like that. It’s just —”

“Oh, don’t even start. You and I both know wasn’t supposed to be me in that bed.”

“I would never —” His face was flaming.

“Castle.” Standing up, she took the sweatshirt and pulled it over her head. Then, to his surprise, she went up on tiptoe to plant a kiss on his cheek. “We both know this was a one-time thing. It wouldn’t have happened at all if we hadn’t both been drunk and upset.”

“Okay. Thank you, I guess. But it doesn’t mean it wasn’t —” something clicked in his mind. “Both of us upset?”

“Everyone in the world saw you after Kate left.”

“What about you?”

She shook her head. “Nothing important. The point is that this is awkward, and the fewer people know about it, the better. Even Alexis figured out that much.”

“I think more of you than as someone who needs rushing out the door.”

“I know you do. And I don’t regret last night, but I’m no fool about it either.” She bent down to pull her shoes on; unfortunately, the only ones available were the heels she’d worn the night before. “If the two of you could figure out how to actually talk instead of sniping at each other, it wouldn’t have been me.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Lanie.”

“Never for a minute.” She patted his cheek. “That doesn’t mean there’s no room for reality. Now, in case you’ve forgotten, I need to be somewhere. That’s what’s rushing me out the door. Not you. Got it?”

He nodded. “At least let me fix you something to eat.”

“Don’t worry about it. And, Castle?”

“Yeah?”

“You might not remember, but I do. As convenient warm bodies go?” She brushed her lips against his. “Once my girl gets it together and figures out what’s standing right in front of her, the reward’s going to be awesome.”

It took him a second to work through that one and recognize the compliment. “Thanks. Come on. Door’s this way.”

“I know.” She strode out ahead of him, through the study, and as she passed the desk another memory came back. She’d stood up and approached him slowly, mimicking the cat she’d chosen as her costume, and given him one of the most thorough kisses he’d ever experienced. By the time it was finished, they were already in the bedroom with their clothes half off.

She was an excellent kisser. She was great at a lot of other things, too, and had proceeded to demonstrate exactly that.

He stopped her as she crossed into the corridor. “Lanie. You’re not the only one who got a big reward last night.”

Her answer was a smile, and he found himself returning it as he shut the front door behind her. This morning hadn’t been fun, exactly, but it could have been worse. A lot worse. She was one heck of a lady.

Then part of their exchange floated back into his memory. _What about you?_ he’d asked when she admitted she had also been upset last night.

 _Nothing important._ It’d been a deft deflection, and he’d followed along without even realizing it.

The smile became a frown. Who would dare to upset Lanie so badly she’d get involved in an ill-advised one-night stand?

Whoever it was, he decided, didn’t have a chance in hell of deserving a lady like her. Because she deserved the best.


End file.
